1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for installing a printer driver of an image forming apparatus in a printing environment using a universal printer driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, when documents prepared in a host apparatus (such as a personal computer) are printed by an image forming apparatus (such as a printer), a printer driver is needed in the host apparatus to drive the image forming apparatus. Specifically, the printer driver converts data prepared in an application program of the host apparatus into data that can be interpreted by the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, the host apparatus performs two-way communication with the image forming apparatus through the printer driver.
Generally, since interpretable data is different in each image forming apparatus, the printer driver corresponding to the model of the image forming apparatus to be used should be installed in the host apparatus. Accordingly, in order to reduce an inconvenience from installing a corresponding printer driver to the host apparatus each time a new image forming apparatus is used, a Universal Printer Driver (UPD) has been introduced.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a conventional method of installing a printer driver of an image forming apparatus in a printing environment using a UPD. Referring to FIG. 1, a window asking for a license agreement is displayed in operation 100. That is, before the universal printer driver is installed, the license agreement must first be consented to. Thus, if the license agreement is rejected, the UPD is not installed.
In operation 110, a driving mode of the UPD is checked. The UPD can be driven in two modes (i.e., a general mode and a dynamic mode). When the UPD is driven in a general mode, the printer driver having a basic function is installed, regardless of the model of the image forming apparatus connected to the host apparatus. Accordingly, the host apparatus can operate and communicate with the image forming apparatus as in the conventional method of using the printer driver. On the other hand, when the UPD is driven in a dynamic mode, the printer driver is installed after receiving information from the image forming apparatus to be used so that a driving mode of the UPD can be checked. When the UPD is driven in a general mode, operation 120 is performed, and when the universal printer driver is driven in a dynamic mode, operation 130 is performed.
In operation 120, the printer driver having a basic function is installed. Specifically, when the UPD is driven in a general mode, an add printer wizard provided from an operation system (OS) may pop up, the UPD is installed, and a driver displaying user interface with a basic function is installed, thereby completing installation.
In operation 130, the UPD is installed in a dynamic mode. In operation 140, the image forming apparatus is set. In other words, it is determined whether to set as a standard printer and to print a test page. In operation 150, information of the printer driver of the image forming apparatus to be used is input. After searching for a model name of the printer driver of the image forming apparatus, the model name of the printer driver to be used from among the model names found by the searching is input. In operation 160, the printer driver of the image forming apparatus in which information is input is installed.
In operations 150 and 160, when the UPD is driven in a dynamic mode in a printing environment using the UPD, a process of inputting information of the printer driver of the image forming apparatus to be used is needed. In order to input information of the printer driver of the image forming apparatus, the exact model name and/or number of the printer driver to be used should be known. However, since there are various types of printer drivers that are distributed in the market, it is almost impossible to exactly recognize a model name of the printer driver. Accordingly, it is difficult to install the printer driver of the image forming apparatus to be used. In addition, information on functions supported by the image forming apparatus is difficult to recognize with only the model name of the printer driver, resulting in a difficulty in installing the printer driver of the image forming apparatus that supports functions to be used.